Header Banner Made with MyBannerMaker.com! Click here to make your own! "The Stemz" is an OC based band fronted by veteran MC/vocalist Eric Malcomb. With elements of dancehall, roots reggae, funk, rock, and R&B, The Stemz are forging new musical ground with an original style, passion, a smooth flow, and strong catchy melodies. The Stemz have a spiritual and political message and strive to spread truth, hope, fight oppression, inspire activism, and expose injustice through their music.
Although political awareness is a concern of the group, the music is far from preachy. There is more of a positive message than anything else and the main goal of the band is to create fresh new sounds with a positive vibe. Send a message to get a CD of their their first full length LP: "Tinfoil Hatman"!
Check out this review of the Tinfoil Hatman CD in OC Weekly:
Review online here
The Stemz, 'Tinfoil Hatman'
By DAVE SEGAL
Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 3:01 pm
For years, I disdained reggae, not so much for the music itself (Morrissey’s infamous quote, “All reggae is vile,†reflected worse on him than it did the genre), but rather because reggae’s white aficionados bugged the hell out of me. Not unreasonably, I saw most Caucasian reggae fans as poseurs looking for rationalizations to smoke massive quantities of ganja and to appear more multiculti than thou. Can millions of Bob Marley poster owners be wrong? Maybe not, but they sure are Jah-damn sanctimonious and annoying.
I won’t speculate about the Stemz’s motives for playing reggae and its more psychedelic kin, dub. The core foursome consist of an Asian-American, an African-American and two white dudes, for those keeping score, and their intentions seem to be genuine. Their self-released 12-track CD, Tinfoil Hatman, won’t make you forget King Tubby or Lee “Scratch†Perry, but it is a solid, serious specimen of politically aware, dubwise reggae.
Vocalist Eric Malcomb rails against the usual authority figures in uniforms and suits in a stern, Rastamanic patois, while drummer Craig Ranke, guitarist Anthony Deacon, bassist Mike Tran and conguero Bhadra Walker skank against the machine with righteous fervor.
The title track dredges up a potent dubby funk, accentuated with eerie, irie-massed backing “aahh aahh aahhâ€s. The inspirational “Citizens on Patrol,†“Jah Warrior†and “Dread Locks†feature accelerated passages that will get even the most lethargic potheads vigorously shaking their dreads. “Irie Nation†generates the positive vibrations its title promises with a saucily churning, staccato rhythm. “New Plan†exhibits the Stemz’s gift for melodic beauty, augmented by Deacon’s purple-hazed guitar coloration.
For a reggae group, the Stemz deviate from tradition with panache and avoid falling into a sluggish tempo rut. My only quibble regards the bass: It should figure more prominently in the mix—but that sonic shortcoming might be due more to budget constraints than aesthetic judgment. Regardless, the Stemz provide one more reason why Morrissey’s blanket condemnation was off-base.
Check out this video clip of the band live!
pimpyopage.com
